Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - January/February 2012 - (Page 26)

My Summer s a child, I loved to wander the labyrinths of my father’s university laboratory. I was intrigued by the white lab coats and the incubators. Sometimes, my prayers were answered and my father would allow me into his testing room, where I would sit on a tiny stool in the corner, a silent observer of his practiced agility. My father was a molecular biologist, and his lab, another world—one free of emotions and distractions, where the goal was the pursuit of truth. by Rebecca Hu Last summer, after years of observing and fantasizing, I was handed my own lab coat. I had been accepted as a medical intern in the Stanford Institutes of Medicine Research Program (SIMR). In this eight-week summer program, high school students from around the country perform research alongside Stanford faculty. I was overjoyed at the prospect of designing and conducting my own research experiment. Upon acceptance into the program, each of the 58 interns selected a research focus such as cancer, cardiovascular, digital anatomy, immunology, neuroscience, or stem cells. I decided to follow my fascination with brain anatomy and signed up, along with 11 other interns, for the neuroscience institute. The following week, I received my specific lab assignment: elucidating the role of a common cell-regulating mechanism, A known as L-type calcium signaling, in the dopamine system of the brain. Having studied the dopamine system in my AP Biology class at school, I was eager to bring my conceptual knowledge of neurological systems to the laboratory bench. A Brainy Journey Recent evidence had suggested that calcium signaling that occurs in L-type calcium channels (LTCCs) is a critical component of dopamine systems in the brain widely implicated in psychomotor function, reward-based learning, and addictive disorders. To study the role of LTCCs in these pathways, I would focus on a mouse model that expressed a mutant form of Cav1.2, a subunit of LTCCs. I hypothesized that Cav1.2 dysfunction disrupts dopamine signaling, resulting in behavioral changes. During the first week of the program, I attended neuroscience lectures and animal handling training sessions. While I was initially wary of working with mice, after training and practice, I became accustomed to the animal facilities. Over the next eight weeks, I also became well acquainted with the nooks and crannies of the Stanford Department of Neurobiology’s Dolmetsch Lab, a place that Rebecca Hu with her mentor, Dr. Rong Mao. 26 imagine Jan/Feb 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - January/February 2012

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - January/February 2012
Contents
Big Picture
In My Own Words
Reading Tea Leaves
iGEM: Synthetic Biology, Brick by Brick
Young Biologists, Big Discoveries
My Journey to the International Biology Olympiad
Lab Notes
Macro Menagerie
My Summer at SIMR
Selected Opportunities & Resources
The World on Stage
Lessons from Chess
Off the Shelf
Word Wise
Exploring Career Options
One Step Ahead
Planning Ahead for College
Students Review
Creative Minds Imagine
Mark Your Calendar
Knossos Games

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - January/February 2012